Mr. Eskildsen
Staff Spotlight: Mr. Eskildsen
By: Hudson Underwood
Mr. Eskildsen, also known to his students as Mr. E. After seven years of teaching, Mr. E joined the Easton Valley teaching staff in the 2021-22 school year as the high school Ag teacher. He was originally guided towards teaching by his Ag teacher, Mr. Frost, and after graduating from Northeast High School in 2010, he attended Iowa State University. He saw the difference Mr. Frost made in his students' lives, the fun trips and learning opportunities, and Mr. E wanted to be able to impart those same lessons on students.
Mr. E wanted to teach at Easton Valley because it was close to home, but he never expected to stay teaching here as he graduated from Northeast and wanted to return. However, EV has created opportunities and relationships he doesn’t feel are possible elsewhere. The support in the EV Community is unmatched, making him feel right at home.
There are multiple aspects he loves about teaching. Mr. E enjoys watching his students grow, learn new things, and experience new opportunities. As an Ag Teacher, no two days are the same. Some days he may be teaching welding in the shop, taking students to various competitions, listening to a set of livestock judging oral reasons, or demonstrating how to suture a wound.
When asked what his favorite class to teach was, Mr. E said he enjoys teaching Farm Business Management the most. Farm Business teaches concepts that all students need in life beyond high school; this class is not just for farmers. There are many financial concepts and life lessons taught, such as budgeting, decision-making, loans, and much more. This class is challenging, but in all reality, it’s very easy if you let the math do the work for you.
You may wonder how Mr. E balances being a teacher and Advisor, and it’s challenging. There are so many things that overlap in Ag Education and FFA, so balancing creates certain challenges, such as which takes precedence over something else. Students learn best by doing, so being able to take students out of school for FFA has definite positives. However, students left behind may not receive the same amount of instruction with a substitute teacher. Ag Education is able to incorporate certain FFA contests into class curriculum, such as public speaking, everyone needs to have a certain level of public speaking ability.
Outside of teaching, Mr. E enjoys gardening, flowers, watching tractor pulls, farming, is an avid John Deere farm toy collector, and spending time with his family.